Global Gardener—Permaculture with Bill Mollison

112 minutes, documentary
home video version of Australian TV series

I don't know about your kids, but my kids love anything having to do with gardening. This one is so fun because Bill Mollison, who coined the term 'permaculture' and is perhaps its chief advocate, goes bouncing around the globe and we get to see people in India, Africa, the U.S. and elsewhere coaxing crops from a variety of soils. Images of seed-sowing, cut to profuse growth a few weeks later, gives us a very satisfied feeling. "I hate bad news," Bill says, folding up his newspaper and putting it under a couple of potatoes, covering it with some straw. "Now that's good news." Yes: roots and shoots through every newspaper!

Hey, ever notice how it's easy to find Toy Story at the library, and maybe hard to find the lesser-known stuff, like this one, that you might expect to see at a public library? Sometimes librarians just need a little education. This one is distributed by Bullfrog Films. Their link is to the left of this page, and they specialize in environmental media, much of it directed at children. Tell your librarian.

Recommended for all ages.